1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatus for distributing files to a set of network devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A phone that is capable of sending traffic over an IP network is typically referred to as an IP phone. Multiple IP phones are typically connected to one another via one or more networks. In order to upgrade the IP phones, a set of files is often stored at a file server. When the IP phones are notified of the upgrade, the IP phones attempt to retrieve the set of files stored at the file server. Unfortunately, the IP phones will all attempt to retrieve the set of files from the file server simultaneously, which in some situations can cause network congestion and upgrade delays.
Many of the IP phones being upgraded may be connected to the call management server via high bandwidth connections. However, a number of the IP phones that are not local to the file server may be connected to the file server via low bandwidth connections. For instance, customer phones that are deployed in branch locations may have a low bandwidth connection to the file server. These customer phones often experience a substantial upgrade time, as well as unreliable upgrade results.